Apple paid less than 1% Corporate Tax in Ireland, slapped a €13 billion bill by EU

Apple is one of those companies which just can’t keep itself away from the news. For good or for bad reasons, this company manages to come under spotlight every single time. But hold on, this time, it’s not an iPhone 7 news. This time, the company has been slapped a sum of $14.5 billion bill. Yes, you read that right.

The European Union on Tuesday ordered Ireland to collect $14.5 billion in unpaid taxes from the company. In case you missed it, we’re talking about billion here, and that is certainly not a small amount. It is reported that Apple’s illegal deals with the Irish government allowed the technology giant to pay virtually nothing on its European business in some years. These arrangements enabled Apple to draw some profit out of this whole deal. By doing so, Apple paid only 50 euros in taxes for every million euros in profit during 2014.

Hence, Europe demanded Ireland to collect ten years worth of back taxes, which sums up to about $14.5 billion plus interest. Apple put out a statement commenting on this. It stated that the company follows laws and pays all of the taxes they owe, regardless of where they operate. The company stated that it is going to appeal as well, and they are confident that the decision will be overturned. Note that Irish Government soon followed suit agreeing to an appeal as well.

It is quite surprising to see how the Cupertino giant has gotten away with just 1 percent tax when the standard Irish corporate is about 12.5 percent, which is one of the lowest in the developed world. The United states Government is also an unlikely advocate here. Politicians have berated Apple for paying too little by setting up such complex tax structures. So let’s see how this unfolds now. Stay tuned for more info on this.